Jean Sibelius
Pohjola's Daughter
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Hannu Lintu, conductor
Listen to samples on selected tracks.
Lemminkäinen Legends is a large and fascinating orchestral work in four movements based on the Finnish Kalevala epic. Originally completed in 1895 the work has a unique position in Sibelius' oeuvre: Sibelius never came closer to the very core of Symbolism than in the misty moods, swan motifs and macabre features of Lemminkäinen. It also includes one of Sibelius' most well-known orchestral pieces, The Swan of Tuonela. Written before the 1st Symphony, it is also noteworthy that Lemminkäinen lacks nothing of a symphony.
Sibelius was not totally satisfied with the work, but withdrew the work soon after its premiere until it was heard again in 1935. However, in his late years Sibelius did not even totally reject the idea of calling Lemminkäinen as ‘a symphony'.
Pohjola's Daughter (Pohjolan tytär), completed in 1906, is among Sibelius' final orchestral pieces directly linked to the Kalevala epic in his transition from National Romanticism towards a more Classical idiom. It includes some of the boldest and most dramatic scoring that Sibelius ever wrote, illustrating Väinämöinen's futile attempts to win the maiden of Pohjola for himself.
Year 2015 marks the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), also known as "Finland's national composer".
The recent recordings of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra together with their Chief Conductor Hannu Lintu on Ondine have gathered excellent reviews in the international press.
Sleeve notes in English and Finnish
The bleak, themeless landscape of 'Lemminkäinen in Tuonela' is conveyed with impressive power (...). He also offers a vividly characterised Pohjola's Daughter, another spellbinding Sibelian masterpiece.
Performance: , Recording:
Malcolm Hayes, BBC Music Magazine, July 2015
It's thrilling to hear Sibelius's most remarkable structures from an orchestra under impassioned leadership that's probably never sounded better.
Andrew Mellor, Gramophone, December 2015, Critics' Choice 2015
Textures are sifted with skill, chosen tempi are unfailingly judicious and Lintu shows a canny awareness of the bigger scheme. I appreciate the and thrust he brings to 'Lemminkäinen and the Maidens on the Island' (the crisp accenting in the winds and strings throughout will make you sit up), and in 'The Swan of Tuonela' he draws some agreeably luminous and breathtakingly hushed sounds from his string choir. 'Lemminkäinen in Tuonela', too, boasts impressive control.
Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone, July 2015
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), and its mission is to produce and promote Finnish musical culture.
Hannu Lintu is one of Finland's most sought-after conductors and is rapidly creating a major international career. He has been Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra 2009-2013, and also Principal Guest Conductor of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin. Before assuming the new role of Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2013 to 2021, he was the orchestra's Chief Guest Conductor in 2012. Hannu Lintu was previously Chief Conductor of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic Director of the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra. He is a regular guest conductor with the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra in Finland and was Artistic Director of the orchestra's Summer Sounds festival in 2005. In November 2022, the Gulbenkian Orchestra announced the appointment of Lintu as its next chief conductor.
Luciano Berio
Virpi Räisänen, mezzo-soprano · Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra · Hannu Lintu, conductor
Info & buyOlivier Messiaen
Angela Hewitt, piano · Valérie Hartmann-Claverie, ondes Martenot · Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra · Hannu Lintu, conductor
Info & buyGyörgy Ligeti
Benjamin Schmid, violin · Finnish RSO · Hannu Lintu, conductor
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